Meet the candidate: Athena Aguiar for Ward 5

Presenter: Meet the candidate: Ward 5 City Council candidate Athena Aguiar appeared at the City Club Sept. 18. 

Athena Aguiar (Eugene City Council candidate, Ward 5): Hello, everyone.  Grateful to be here. My name is Athena Aguiar, and yep, I’m the challenger on this race for Ward 5 in the Eugene City Council.

I went to Sheldon. I live in North Eugene, and I love my community. And I, as far as my background, have been working in the environmental sector. I now do more political work, campaign work, and I’m still doing environmental advocacy, of course.

I’m running because I want to make Eugene more safe, affordable, and inclusive.

Safety to me means bringing back a CAHOOTS-like crisis response service, making sure we have transportation safety. That means having sufficient protected bike lanes, so keep building those; making sure we repair our sidewalks and build new sidewalks.

Affordability in and Eugene, of course, means housing affordability. We need to build enough housing for people and make sure that there is housing for various income levels.

Inclusivity at this time means still keeping ICE out of our community, doing everything we can as a locality to prevent federal overreach. It also means protecting our LGBT community and ensuring that Eugene is racially inclusive.

I have continued knocking doors since the primary. I’ve talked to over 1,000 residents of Ward 5. And I must say that I understand the survey response to be accurate in accordance to what I’ve heard from voters, which is that people feel that the Council is a part of the problem and they are very critical of what the city is doing.

And yeah, I hope you all vote for me, and those residents of Ward 5 vote for me in November.

Presenter: She was asked to explain why programs like CAHOOTS are important. 

Athena Aguiar: Thank you for the question. A big part of why I’m so passionate about all these issues, and part of what got me so deeply involved in coming to City Council and learning more about these issues was the loss of CAHOOTS.

And at that time, there was a lot of other budget conversations going on. When the Budget Committee was meeting, we saw a huge outpouring of community support for that CAHOOTS program that the city used to have. And even Zohran Mamdani mentioned Eugene in the debates in the New York mayoral race.

It was something that a lot of the people I was talking to were really passionate about, and even strangers who I’d never met were very passionate about.

I met several people that I’m friends with today from advocacy around this issue, so we made that a part of the platform right at the beginning. And then I went out to the doors and in the primary I knocked over 5,000 doors just myself. And of those, at least half, someone mentioned CAHOOTS in the conversation, whether it be the person or me at the door.

And there was almost always a big reaction that that is often the most important thing to people is that we have those alternative response services.

Before we lost the service, people were very proud to have that nationally-recognized program. Such a unique service.

And next year there’s going to be discussion and maybe even this fall, I think there’s a work session in September about the community safety payroll tax and my understanding of the intentions of the tax was to fund alternative programs.

And the evolution that we’ve seen of what the tax goes to is that we created restorative justice and community corps and all these other alternative programs which are very popular.

And when I was more obsessed with the Police Commission than I am now and was talking to the police commissioners, they were excited that there was a community court.

And when I’ve talked to even people outside the ward—people are very excited about these alternative programs, because I think safety is very multifaceted.

When we were talk about fire—I mean, as a environmental restoration worker, I once worked on a contract with the city of Eugene, where we worked at Hendricks Park, and we were removing these grasses, which caused fires. They’re invasive species. But the Parks Department budget is what’s funding removing those grasses, which caused fires. So it’s not all the fire budget that is our fire safety.

Presenter: How can the City Council make housing cheaper to either rent or purchase? Ward 5 candidate Athena Aguiar:

Athena Aguiar: Thank you for this question as well, because, yes, it is something I talk about on the website, and that is because I have had my own struggles finding affordable housing.

I talked to a lot of young people in town who have these problems, and I know a lot of my friends and acquaintances have had to leave Eugene because they weren’t able to find affordable housing that they can pay for with the job that they’re having here.

Some policies that—I will say also when I talk to people, they are not so concerned what specific policies are enacted. They’re just concerned that their rent goes down or that they’re able to buy a house and they currently cannot.

Some policies I think could help were it would be to make sure the zoning is appropriate. We do need to continue building and build at an increasing rate. That means making sure we have a multiunit zoning where appropriate, making sure we have introduce multiuse zoning where we have the businesses and the commercial on the bottom of those apartment buildings.

I have met a lot of people who have to move to another part of town as well, like moving to South Eugene or moving to the University area. I meet people as they’re moving, often, or right before they move, and I think that’s really sad that people don’t feel like they can stay in their home.

I’ve also, one time, I met someone who was living in an apartment who was like 70 years old and has never bought a house and still wants to buy a house and still feels like they can’t buy a house. And I found that to be very sad as well. So I think those home ownership programs are really important.

When I became interested in City Council, I immediately realized how interlocked I guess the government services are. And on the doors, I’ve realized that many people don’t know what government body the service they’re using comes from. They’re like, ‘What? Who is in control of the service they’re using?’

So when I ask people what city issues are most important to them, often people will say something like, ‘We need universal pre-K,’ or ‘We need universal health care for the state of Oregon,’ not really considering the fact that that’s actually not the city.

But if elected or not elected, to be honest, I would love to participate more in state lobbying and participate in talking to LTD, trying to make sure we have the bus lines we need.

Because I have met disabled people, I’ve met people who are blind and can’t drive or who can’t / don’t want to drive, or can’t afford to have a car right now because of their job is not paying enough for them to buy a car also in addition to their rent.

So I think those alternative transportations are really, really important for those people and advocating having local officials participate in the other levels of government, especially the state government, is a big part of how we can shift affordability.

Presenter: Athena was asked what services can be cut from the city budget. 

Athena Aguiar: I would say nothing can be cut at this point, from my understanding of the budget. 

I was following closely the budget process last year, and that is why the fire fee was proposed and why, you know, hundreds of people came out and gave public testimony about, ‘You want to cut the program, I use that program. You can’t be cutting that. I use that for my children.’

And that’s been my experience talking to people door-to-door as well. Not everybody always knows, ‘Oh, this Rec(reation) program is from the city,’ or from the state or whatever. But they know that they use it and they know that they rely on it,

That’s why I was a proponent of the fire fee, actually, was because I to myself thought there’s nothing that can be cut. And I think for me, what’s important is what we defend, what we don’t cut. 

Presenter: If cuts must be made to the budget, what would you do? 

Athena Aguiar: I think there is a long-term answer and a short-term answer. The long-term answer is that there are more cost-efficient ways of delivering the services that we deliver, such as CAHOOTS, which responded to 911 calls, including welfare checks and other services that more expensive police officers were responding to previous.

So the long-term answer is shifting of services to lower-cost options. But obviously that’s going to take many years and the cuts will probably need to be made next year.

So in that case, I would say that I would love to ask the public what they think should be cut. It’s a hard question to ask, and it’s not the question I’ve been asking when I interact with people.

But I would probably change the conversation at that point to ask people, ‘What of these’—give them the list of the services that we provide—‘is the least important to you?’

Which is very difficult to answer, but one thing that I’ve noticed is that people don’t even know what is in the budget right now. People don’t know we’re in a crisis. I say, ‘What issue is most important to you?’ 

And then sometimes people respond, ‘Well, does the city have a lot of extra money?’ 

And I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s have a conversation about that first.’ 

So raising awareness of the fact that we’re in a crisis to voters, showing them the exact line items where everything is going. I think that’s a great way to find out what’s important to the people that I would be representing if elected.

Presenter: Athena was asked about economic development.

Athena Aguiar: Well, I have to agree that the University is a great source of brilliant minds that we want to keep in our communities, in our community. As I stated before, I have met a lot of people who have had to move because they weren’t able to start a life here.

And I agree that the Southern Willamette Valley Innovation Corridor is a great opportunity for the government to coordinate with, to keep the university students here and use their skills in Eugene to start their own businesses and industry.

Part of why I’m a proponent of that Clean Energy fund is that a portion of the fund will be going towards clean energy jobs, which is a new sector. And I think it’s important we lean into new and growing sectors, especially in the climate, because part of why we’re having all these fires and need to make sure we have a good fire department is because there’s been climate change.

So it’s hotter now. I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but I really have when I go outside and canvass, especially this August. 

But yes, working with the University students especially, there’s a lot of people who are at the University for environmental studies or they want to do environmental law. Those are a lot of the people that I’ve met, and encouraging them to stay here, as opposed to move away, would be the way to start to create jobs.

Presenter: Why does the City Council need new blood? Ward 5 candidate Athena Aguiar: 

Athena Aguiar: Well, I know I’m different from a lot of people that I’ve met in politics in general, and I think that has something to do with being so bold, being willing to take decisive action.

That’s what it sounds to me from the people I’ve talked to in Ward 5, that many people are looking for someone who’s going to push, who’s going to fight, I guess, is a common word people use, for people’s interests.

And to another thing that I think is really, really important is to talk to the voters or the people who are in the district, making sure there’s a two-way line of communication is something that I’ve found.

I will say there’s people who I’ve met who I think are probably more politically aligned with Mike, but have told me they want to vote for me because we’ve had conversations and they feel like I’m listening to them. 

So I think that’s something that can help with this. Oh, the Council is part of the problem.

If people feel they have control over the Council a little bit more or their own representative, I think people will feel hopefully like they have control over their own community, their own city and their own lives. 

I understand that a lot of people, probably outside of the ward, but definitely in the ward, believe that the problems with the city are partially the fault of the Council.

I understand that a lot of people are looking for new leadership or for people to take more bold action. A lot of the complaints I’ve heard are that the Council is not interacting with people enough, like the residents and asking for people’s opinion.

I’ve met quite a few people who have reached out to my opponent and never received a response, and then I’m able to have a conversation with them, hear their concerns, so hopefully bring their voice to the table.

And I hear from a lot of people that they enjoy young people. I don’t know that I can give an argument for that, but it’s just something I hear a lot. But obviously people are going to tell me that because I’m young.

Presenter: Athena was asked how she will stay in touch with the voters. 

Athena Aguiar: It sounds crazy, but I want to keep knocking doors. I know that sounds wild, but before I was running, I knocked doors for a nonprofit and I have done a lot for other candidates.

The reason I think it’s so important is because the people who need our support the most, the people whose voices are heard the least, are people who are not coming to meetings.

They don’t have that extra time. It’s people who are working overtime or are full-time caregivers, and the only time someone who is interested in elected office would meet these people is at their home or workplace, which is why.

So I obviously knocked on a lot of doors because those people are not probably attending the activist meetings that I go to.

I also, whenever I ask a union for their endorsement, I ask that they please bother me if I’m elected to come out to labor strikes or events, rallies. I have heard from the labor community that they don’t get as much involvement from elected officials as they would like to see in those events.

And I hope to participate with people’s democratic workplaces, because that’s the other main place besides home (which is where I’ve been interacting with people currently) that people spend most of their time.

I think that talking to people that come to City Council is really important too, because those people are obviously going to be people who are very passionate about what happens in the city.

So the fact that they show up to a City Council meeting and public comment. So I spent a lot of time talking to the people who have come out to public comment.

They have very strong opinions, I will say, that compared to the people, the random people who just happen to be home when I knock on their door.

And yeah, I think that all of the random people who you might not think of as a voter always, who maybe only votes once every couple of years, it’s really important we hear those people’s voices because they’re marginalized.

Presenter: City Club members offered multiple questions about ICE. Athena Aguiar: 

Athena Aguiar: When I ask people what issues are most important to them, a very common response is, ‘I’m scared ICE will take my mom.’

‘I’m scared ICE will take my student and I’ll never see them again.’

EPD should not be working with ICE. That seems obvious to me, but I guess it’s not to everyone.  I have a fantasy where they would help us to advocate for immigrants, but I don’t think that’s actually going to happen. I think the main thing that would be important is EPD not coordinating with ICE.

I think that there are things the local governments can do actively to support our immigrant community, and would be interested in exploring some of those options. There’s different policies that are at different levels of effectiveness, such as creating ICE-free zones, which is maybe not as effective because ICE doesn’t respect ICE-free zones.

Creating positions of advocacy like an immigrant and cultural point person for people to go to when they’re having trouble, that might be more effective because people have someone they feel they can look to for help.

I also, one time, I knocked on someone’s door and asked what issue was most important to them.

And they said, ‘Yesterday I just helped someone hide from ICE. I went out and drove to their apartment and they sat in my car when an officer was trying to come to their door. And that was really scary for me.’

And I was like, ‘Wow, that does sound really scary.’  I don’t think we should help those operations of abducting people.

Presenter: What are your views on data centers? 

Athena Aguiar: I have been advocating on public record against data centers, so if anyone has looked into it, they may already know that I hold that position very strongly. 

I would be more comfortable with being a resident of Eugene and feeling that there isn’t going to be any data centers. If there was an explicit ban written down somewhere, whether it be in the code or resolution. So if elected, that is something that I would look to advocate for. 

My understanding is that it currently is not an allowed use within the city. The people that I’ve talked to still feel uncomfortable and want to see a bold stance against data centers come from the city. 

My understanding is there was a recent some kind of thing that prevents NDAs, which is great.

That is something that I know causes a lot of people a lot of anxiety, especially environmental advocates who don’t want something to happen behind closed doors. 

I hope that there’s not only no data centers in Eugene, but also not in Lane County, I will say that, even though I have no control over that.

Presenter: With her closing statement, Athena Aguiar: 

Athena Aguiar: I just first want to say thank you to all of you for being here, for caring so much about these issues, to watch or listen to this program. And thank you all for being voters as well. 

I will say, I am so glad to have had the opportunity to run in the first place.  There was a time in the past, I’m sometimes reminded, where I, or someone like me would have not been allowed to do this. So thank you for that opportunity.

I really care about these issues. And I think that there are some changes that we need to make in our community here, and I hope to be a part of those changes. 

That’s why I keep saying safe, affordable, inclusive. I think those are things that are really important to all of us. And I hope that those of you in the ward vote for me in November.

Presenter: ‘Meet the Candidate’ features Athena Aguiar for City Council in Ward 5.